Chawl residents fear eviction under SRD

MUMBAI, June 17: Residents of Suryavanshi chawl at Boraspada, Kandivali, are up in arms against a builder who allegedly hoodwinked them int...

MUMBAI, June 17: Residents of Suryavanshi chawl at Boraspada, Kandivali, are up in arms against a builder who allegedly hoodwinked them into vacating their land under the pretext of developing it under the Slum Redevelopment (SRD) Scheme.

The chawl-dwellers allegedly faced eviction by Nalin Shah of Mayur Builders who apparently possess documents to prove that the residents had signed a proposal on alternate homes two years.

They claimed that while signing on the agreement papers they were not aware of the terms and conditions offered by the builder. They blindly trusted the local politician

who accompanied the builder on the occasion. Besides, a resident of the slum said, “The agreement paper was in English instead of Marathi. So it was not clearly communicated to us.” However, they realised their mistake when the builder announced that they are to be rehabilitated on some other plot of land.

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Shah termed these allegations baseless, adding that they were motivated by the local politicians to stop the development project to secure the vote banks.

Shah added, “There are around 300 dwellers in the chawl and 95 per cent of them had signed the agreement in the presence of representatives from Yuvak Mandal, a local social organisation, and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Hemendra Mehta, BJP MP Ram Naik and local BJP Corporator Gopal Shetty.”

Shah further said, “We received the permission (Annexure 2) from the state government to develop the plot and are waiting for the final clearance through the single window system. "We have to pay Rs 100 for developing per square feet, a deposit of Rs 20,000 per tenant and Rs 840 per square feet as development charge to the state government.”

“In spite of such huge initial investment, residents blame us,” he said.On the forceful eviction, Shah said, “We have to shift them to temporary transit camp till the plot is developed. There is no question of threatening and harassing the residents. If they do not want to go we are ready to cancel the agreement.”

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But corporator Shetty said, “Inspite of my good business and factories, I stay in the same chawl only to serve the people. How can I let anybody manipulate the residents? I have complained to the deputy commissioner of police Dilip Rao and other concerned authorities to inquire into the matter.”

Shetty further said, “The open plot at the chawl is being developed under SRD scheme with the permission from state government. Nothing is illegal.”Former municipal councilor and Congress leader Kala Tiwari blamed the builder and the Barathiya Janata Party leaders of manipulating the SRD scheme for exploiting the residents of the chawl.